“I'm absolutely heartbroken to leave the Tour de France. I built my season around the Tour, and the team has supported me every step of the way. I had hoped the rest day would allow some time to recover from my crashes,” Talansky said in a team press release issued this morning. “But it proved to be too much.”

At Florida International University, geologist Peter Harlem has created a series of maps that chart what will happen as the sea continues to rise. These show that by the time oceans have risen by four feet – a fairly conservative forecast – most of Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Virginia Key and all the area's other pieces of prime real estate, will be bathtubs. At six feet, Miami city's waterfront and the Florida Keys will have disappeared. The world's busiest cruise ship port, which handles four million passengers, will disappear beneath the waves. "This is the fact of life about the ocean: it is very, very powerful," says Harlem.
Sucks.

By the way, Key Biscayne has a thriving Fred scene, and rumor has it that Australia just repealed its "crabon tax" because the country's HMFIC (that's "Head Massive Fred In Charge") Tony Abbott was once dropped on the Rickenbacker Causeway and has hated Key Biscayne ever since:

For nine months, collaborative design teams in each of our five cycling-centric cities have been working from Oregon Manifest design criteria to develop the Ultimate Urban Utility Bike, the next bike for the everyday rider.On July 25 you can see the incredible result of their efforts.

Here's the New York City team, which is identical to all the other teams in every way, thanks to the insipid 21st century global monoculture that the flood waters will hopefully one day reclaim:

Apparently, the team is a "collabo" x ("x" is Newspeak for "between") Horse Cycles and something called "Pensa," which is described as follows:

Pensa was founded in 2005, born out of love and determination to improve quality of life through better products and better business choices. We believe great design can deliver experiences that don’t force a compromise on value, the environment or social impact.

“The first time we saw it, I thought it was kinda funny,” one police source said. “We can only assume they’re taking them for joyrides or that the crook would rather take a bike than a train ride home.”

Yes, if there's one thing the police take seriously it's bike theft--though if your Hyundai gets scratched you can be sure they'll come out in force.

Unfortunately, they may ultimately be forced to do something about the problem, since the stolen bikes are taking up precious cell space:

The problem has gotten so bad in Crown Heights that cops are out of garage space to store them, another police source said.To solve the problem, they’ve started stashing the bikes in a jail cell — while they wait for Citi Bike officials to pick them up, the source said.“We were putting them in the garage, but there wasn’t enough room — so we moved them to the back cell,” the source said.

To the NYPD, if you can't put a cyclist in jail, then putting a bike in there is the next best thing.

As for the thieves, not all of them have the sense to ditch the bikes after using them:

At least two Citi Bike crooks have been arrested in recent weeks — including one cyclist who painted a bike orange to disguise it, a Bronx police source said.But cops spotted the Citi Bike “sticker” on the orange ride and charged him with grand larceny, the Bronx source said.

The master criminal was caught while repeatedly ramming the bike into a fire hydrant. When questioned, he explained that he was trying to dock it.

Lastly, a reader tells me the owner of this bicycle is willing to trade it for a handgun:

Felt TK2 Track Bike 56Cm - $1200 (carrboro)I have a Felt tk2 for sale its has a custom set of carbon 90mm rims and it is mostly stock bike besides that, Its running a TruVativ Omnium GXP with a 48 front and 15,16 rear. 3T SPHINX LTD carbon bars. I have a Shimano NX01 chain on it, its a real track chain. The size is a 56cm TT and a 56cm ST. If you have any questions just text me. Could be used in a trade for motorcycle, or a handgun
Hmmm, meeting the stranger you met on Craigslist to trade your expensive bicycle for a handgun...I don't see how that could possibly go wrong.

Snobber, the fact that florida will soon be under water means you need to pop on down here and do some sort of BSNYC collabo x "i don't know, you figure it out" (i'm sure we have a bookstore that caters to hipstars)to promote a book or whatever nonsense you're pushing these days and do one of those post event rides.

it will be like you never left home. i cant even hear myself think over new yorkers using their "indoor voices" to order bagles and rye bread at the market.

Hmm, the ultimate commuter/utility bike. Give me a long wheelbase for stability, places to attach racks and fenders, easy gearing, brakes, and a sturdy frame and wheels...oh wait a minute, that sounds an awful lot like a touring bike!My ninety something Bianchi Volpe is a fantastic bike for commuting (yes, I know it isn't a touring bike per se, but dammit it has been a damn good commuter - the frame size is too small so I switched out the drop bars for flat bars with a riser and mountain bike shifters/brakes - but hey now I can see over traffic as well. Can I just submit my bike to this project?

And all items like that avocado thingy go under the generic name "bagel slicer." If you can't slice a bagel with a knife, don't eat one. Oh, okay, if you're past 75 years old or have a disabled placard on your Hyundai, go ahead!

I did enjoy the old pictures. The torpedo bra link had a link to old Paris Roubaix races. The motorcycle guy looked bad ass in the old leather helment and goggles, and the picture of the peloton, all six of them, just illustrates what a media circus most event have become.

My mom has that NX01 chain too, on her Raleigh with the Shimano Coasting group. Pretty sure that's the chain they made for that group. Hella street cred though, all the homies stop my mom to fist bump her.

Shit yeah! That's IT, it's fuckin genius: Just write parody craigslist ads. I might make it my new artform/medium. There are already plenty on there where you're like "Is this a joke?" so why not take that shit over the top?

Hi, I'm here for the bike--I'm the guy with the gun. Mind if I look at the bike? Thanks. Now give me your wallet. And your phone. Hey, don't get mad at me, this was your idea. Now sit over there and count to 100.

...i'd like to shed some light on those projecting handlebars on the CL bike: the guy has GIANT hands... and as such, the universe has dealt him the singularly unique skill of 'hand'ling things well such as bicycles, motorcycles, and, of course, hand guns. i'm just not sure anyone can provide him with a fair exchange since he's so unique.

I'll take 1965. I love women, but I loved them more back then when I was about 9.

So, tell me, you who live hip places, know hip people and might be under 50: Does anyone pay those "design" teams to be monochromatically pretentious, and perfectly inane? Or do they have day jobs at restaurants and offices? Or are they a new, schlumpy breed of model, hired by some sharpstein for his campaign to get over by begging on the internet?

At least the hippies didn't pretend to be doing anything but getting high and growing vegetables, although they did have the same delusion that self-indulgence would change the world.

I was hoping the rest of the world wouldn't notice Australia's shame in regards to crabon and our HMFFIC (you can guess what the extra F stands for), but Snobby had to go and out us.

And there's more; see the "Amgen" on the HMFFICC's (you can guess what the extra C stands for) spandex? Well, that's a pharmaceutical company that manufactures drugs for illegal Fred use in professional cycling events.

So not only is Australia all in favour of crabon, but our HMMFFICC (you can guess what the extra M stands for) is responsible for Lance Armstrong.

Please don't be angry with us. We made a big mistake, but are working hard to rectify the situation and in the meantime we still have cute koalas.

...and a word on the NYC team... i don't know the joker behind the avocado peelers, but thomas of Horse Cycles is a great guy, personable and accommodating... his bikes aren't too shabby either... he does all kinds of bikes, including sensible urban bikes. can't wait to see what an avocado peeler will do it his nice designs.

I live an allegedly hip place, which also has plenty of aging hippies.

The answer to your questions is yes, except the part about getting paid to do the work.

The thing about the hip places is that there are enough examples of success (though rarely homegrown, so to speak) that it keeps the dream alive for the wannabes.

What's really sad is when you see folks in their late forties hanging on to the dream instead of doing something they can be relatively successful at. Or those who have thrown away the good stuff later in life, and to chase the dream.

As for the young ones, their self indulgence isn't really about changing the world, they just think they're going to get rich by building the better avocado peeler.

I'd bet these sales pitch videos are the result of class (term) projects in design schools.

If they were class projects from engineering schools the products would be cobbie, but otherwise functional.

I left out an important point. The folks that have the talent and skills to change the world are so square and busy, or so goofy, that they aren't hip, i.e. they don't place much importance on or mistake style for substance.

I suspect that's what makes this blog so brilliant, not that WCRM is goofy or square, but that he's an astute judge of the absurd hiding under a shallow veneer of hipness.

I train a continuous stream of amazingly talented students and postdocs, some of whom have actually changed the world. I also deal regularly with heartbreakingly committed and decent enlisted military people. Thank God for squares!

This blog can get repetitive and will have to change with the times or be very dated, but it is astute, insightful social criticism, and very well written. Importantly for me, it is good hearted and, ultimately, generous. I have been hooked for years.

I don't know if anyone else noticed it or not but in the classy vintage tour pic she's got arms like a man. Cover her body up with your thumb or a post-it note and look close at that right arm. I bet she's got a hell of a grip.

To much water in Miami and on the other side of the country experts say San Diego may run out of water eventually (one says in as little as 10 years). But real estate prices have skyrocketed and are at back into 2008 bubble prices and still climbing.

Spokey - The CoMotion looks like a great commuting machine - Nothing wrong with commuting on beaters, but if you have secure parking and can afford it why not ride something decent? I justify it by using the IRS formula for mileage rate - 56 cents per mile - 3,000 or so commuting miles a year, present value for whatever - gives a healthy bike budget (or some bullshit I tell my wife when she says - "now where'd that one come from?")

Babs @ 9:11 - Still a long way to go but progress is being made towards sustainable energy. Problems abound - physics gets in the way, need for storage, need something to make up the difference when the wind stops or clouds move in, etc. By the time we figure it out the sky will crack and we will all die. Have a nice day!

There is a factory in Paris that has been there for like 40 yrs and has been bought out by a Co. from Italy, its still going to be there it will just be a diff name and all. Anyway, they created a FB page and post all these old photo's from the 70's and 80's and it's freakin' TORPEDOBRA.com and I love it. I worked there about 10 years so naturally I check in.

spousy has never prevented me from acquiring more toys. I however have a problem with it. I'm kinda cheap but worse, it's a lot of work. I've actually been looking lately and would probably be looking at a bilenky but getting one of those would be so much work.

I never got that many miles commuting as I'm a wimp in the winter and I only had a 10 mile round trip. Plus when I was working I also had a 300zx convertible which was a lot of fun too. I remember once in the winter I was so cold I stopped in at the bike shop which conveniently was on the ground floor below my office and had to buy some full fingered gloves before I went home.

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About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!